Internet Freedom

What's New

In August, the FCC put its foot down: Comcast and the other telecom giants are on notice that government will enforce rules to protect fair and open access to the Internet. Thanks to efforts of Ohio PIRG and our coalition partners, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered Comcast to stop all blocking and illegal manipulation of Internet traffic. For years Comcast and other telecommunication companies have been trying to avoid investing in network upgrades and extensions. Instead they’ve been throttling some of their own subscribers to “increase” Internet speeds.

Reining in Comcast is only the first step. Congress and the FCC must ensure that every corner of America has access to a fast, fair and open broadband Internet.

How You Can Help

Broadband Internet: Coast-to-coast

Tell the FCC that it’s critical that every corner of America have access to a fair and open broadband Internet and that they must take steps to extend, enhance and protect access to the Internet.

Overview

To be competitive in a global economy our nation must have access to high-speed Internet (Broadband). In the last century, our government, recognizing the importance of telephone access, made a commitment to bring phone service from coast to coast.

Today’s challenge for government: commit to extending fair and open broadband Internet access from coast to coast.

In all educational settings, elementary through university, access to online video, audio and text resources is a must-have. As technology improves, our workforce must be able to take advantage of new technology. But for our country as a whole to obtain the full economic benefits of new technology jobs or gain access to higher education, we’ve got to have a broadband infrastructure that is available to everyone in country.

Twenty million Americans live in areas with no access to broadband Internet and hundreds of millions more have only one provider. However, Congress and the FCC still have the opportunity to mandate a comprehensive plan to connect the country with fair and open broadband Internet access. Ohio PIRG has partnered with a diverse coalition of concerned organizations to urge government to extend access to a fair and open broadband Internet.

To preserve a robust economic future, every American must have fair and open access to the tools of a global information economy: broadband Internet. Ohio PIRG is working to make sure that future is realized.

Rep. Ed Markey (Mass.) speaks on the dangers of ending net neutrality. The Internet is threatened by telecommunications giants who seek to become the gatekeepers with the ability to dictate who can use the Internet, for what purpose, and at what cost.

Resource

To find out the latest news on our campaign for coast-to-coast broadband access visit our coalition's Web site at www.internetforeveryone.org.

To find out the latest news on Internet neutrality, as well as where your senator stands on the issue, please visit our coalition's Web site www.savetheinternet.com.